Issac Assimov’s work has floated around in my literary world for years, yet never caught hold in a way that made me want to read it. Still, I was drawn to I, Robot as the concept of human-created technology turning on its maker is pretty fascinating. I was also a bit hesitant as one gets tired of seeing the Fresh Prince re-created in various roles, sans Ali. With that said, I must admit that Will was less Fresh Prince and more the action hero in this movie. As Detective Del Spooner, he delivered his obligatory one-liners and survived some pretty frenetic scenes on solid footing.
I, Robot takes place in 2035 Chicago, where US Robotics is about to place robots in nearly every home: 1 robot per 5 people. But, never fear as according to the three laws of robotics, humans are safe and always in charge. Right. It seems that a human ends up dead and all clues point to Sonny the robot. Meanwhile, Lawrence Robertson (Bruce), CEO of USR is eager to release his robots and make all those gazillions of dollars, which makes him the obvious bad guy. Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget), a US Robotics employee, becomes Del’s reluctant partner in trying to uncover the true conspirators while struggling with her own inner demons. It seems that her only human emotions have been exhausted on the non-human robots that she sees as saviors to the human race.
But, alas. Something has gone awry and all of sudden these robots are trying to kill Del and take over everything. This makes for some great chase and fight scenes that really keep you engaged if you like that sort of mindless fodder. I do. However, if you need to be slightly intellectually stimulated, then there is a platform for that, as well. You see the robots do not want to take over just for the sake of world domination. They want to take over because it seems that we humans are intent on destroying ourselves through wars, drugs, etc. – a sad, methodical suicide. Hmm…
Anyway, it’s what a summer blockbuster should be. Big and flashy. I thought it was enjoyable, but it won’t be remembered a year from now. Manage your expectations and just get lost in the action.
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